Story of an apocalypse
by SheofCrayonhair
Summary: Alternate take on Resident Evil Extinction. Claire/Alice. Doesn't follow the extinction timeline, but takes place in the same situation... Sort of. Basically one way I think res evil extinction should have gone.
1. Chapter 1

Alice looked over the wasteland that spanned before her. What was the point anymore? What survivors she came across were usually crazed or dying. She'd given up hope of actually finding survivors a long time ago. She couldn't even die. She'd tried before. Blew up a propane tank in the back of a truck that she happened to be standing on. All she'd done was cause herself unimaginable pain that left her disabled for maybe a day. A day. What would have killed a normal human had or left them crippled for life had taken her under 24 hourse to heal almost completly from. She'd had to find new clothes after that.

Now she was simply numb to everything and bored. She'd discovered she could survive on one meal a month, possibly less than that but if she wanted to keep her strength up enough to exterminate the undead she came across. She was safe from their detection due to already being infected.

She hadn't seen another person in damn near a year and by this point she doubted she would again.

Her life consisted of scavenging what she could from the dead towns and, when she was feeling particularly reckless, cities. She kept away from the really large ones. The small cities usually provided enough to keep her going for years at a time, so far she showed no signs of ageing.

"Fucking perfect" She muttered as she walked along a sand covered road that was still visible. "I'm probably stuck like this for eternity. So what does an immortal do with all this free time? Kill off all the undead? For what reason? Who knows how many are left? Likely not enough to sustain a viable human population." Talking to herself had become a common occurrence, it was her way of making sure her voice was still in working condition and that she remembered how to speak.

She felt a familiar prickle in her blood that meant there was undead nearby. Only one though. How disappointing, she was hoping for a fight.

She unsheathed one of her blades and headed onwards up the road to where she knew the undead was waiting.

"Hey there" Alice said casually strolling over to the walking corpse.

It let out a groan as it slowly turned around and started limping towards her making disgusting gurgling noises as it drew closer. Alice sighed and walked towards it, not even slowing as she severed it's head from it's neck.

"Nice to meet you too, names Alice" She muttered cleaning off her blades as she kept walking.

She froze as she heard the unmistakable sound of vehicles approaching. What the hell. Sounded like a damn convoy. She paused. They were maybe twenty minutes away. She stopped and stood in the middle of the road. her bike had long since run out of fuel and she'd left it a few weeks back.

Curiousity got the better of her. Staying on the move was a smart idea and on the off chance that this group of survivors actually had a competent leader, it was possible they could have survived this long, so she stood and waited.

* * *

><p>The line of vehicles came to a halt she shifted slightly as the door to a hummer opened. A red head in shades and a hat walked out and strode up to Alice.<p>

The two of them sized each other up. Alice had a good few inches on the other woman and apparently the other woman had decided she was a threat.

"Hello" Alice said offering a hand "Names Alice"

"Claire Redfield" the redhead said shaking her hand. "Need a lift?"

Alice chuckled "Depends, where are you headed?"

"There's a town up this road a ways and we need gas. Could use an extra hand with the undead." She looked at the corpse a short ways from them "Looks like you can handle it"

"Hmm... Nothing better to do I guess" She said "I suppose I can tag along for awhile."

"Alright, you can ride with me" Claire was suspicious of her, Alice could tell. The kind of leader who tried to keep others safe before herself. A noble trait, if a useless one. What would happen to the convoy if she died?

Alice followed her to the hummer and hopped in the passenger seat.

"Hi" Said a cheerful voice from the backseat. A bubbly looking blonde teen was looking at her.

"Hey" Alice said smiling slightly. She found she didn't really know how to act around other people. Claire was talking to some blonde nerdy looking guy. Probably about her.

"I'm Kmart" She said and went back to lying in the back seat "Don't let Claire's 'I don't like you' attitude fool you. If your here, she'll let you stick around as long as you don't piss her off the much"

Alice wasn't sure how long she was going to be sticking around. Wait a minute Alice. You're bored right? You don't want the human race to die out right? So stay and help these guys out. They seem like they could use it.

"Alice" She said. "How does someone end up with the name K-mart?"

"It's where I hid out till these guys found me. I hated my old name and anyone who knew me was dead so..."

"Seemed like time for a change right?" Alice said understanding.

"Yeah" K-mart nodded.

"I still would have picked a better store..."Alice teased "But I dunno, suits you."

Kmart looked at her a second, judging her or something. A second later she grinned "It was that or Costco. I think I picked the lesser of two evils."

Alice chuckled as Claire got into the hummer and shut the door. She picked up a radio "Move out, we need to get in and out of there before nightfall."

The convoy moved on. Kmart was busy chatting at Claire who Alice knew was only half listening like she was.

"So Alice, what's your story? How'd you survive out here all this time?"

Alice considered this "I'm not really human..."

"Huh?" Kmart said confused.

"Before I tell you everything, you have to agree to at least give me a chance here."

Claire regarded her with suspicion. "I can't promise that."

"Let me tell my whole story first then. If you want to afterwards I'll help you with this town and then leave"

Claire hesitantly agreed "Okay"

"I used to work for the Umbrella Corporation. I was there when the virus first got out, I was in racoon city when they 'sanitized' it..." she said and told them everything, starting with the Hive and up till the world had 'ended'.

"So you're telling me that you've been infected for over three years." Claire said in disbelief.

"Yes. I was told my blood bonded with the t-virus in a way they hadn't seen previously." Alice said.

"How? I thought the t-virus was meant to infect and bring back the dead."

"It originally was designed by a doctor working for Umbrella to help his daughter walk, if she took daily doses of the antidote, she wouldn't become infected." Alice paused to let the new information sink in before continuing"Her strain was different from the one that got out though but the same things apply. It restores dead tissue and repairs what isn't dead. When I was originally infected, I was just stronger, I could sense the undead as well. Then they did some other things to me the second time. I can move things with my mind, as far as I can tell I can't die, my wounds heal remarkably fast, getting bitten has no effect on me..."

"So what your saying is they basically made you into a weapon" Claire said. She seemed to be in deep thought. "How do I know your not just shitting me?"

"Got a lighter?" Alice asked. Claire nodded and handed it to her. Alice lit it and focused. The flame grew bigger and started to cause Claire to get nervous. Alice let the flame return to normal and put a hand in it, not even twitching as her hand started to burn. When her hand was scorched and black and her hand was burnt severely she gave Claire back the lighter.

"Give the virus... Ten minutes? There won't be any sign that was even there.

Claire was pale and looked fairly disgusted.

"Didn't that hurt?" Kmart asked.

"Not really no. I've had worse than this. I'm mostly immune to pain."Alice said watching asbthe wound already began to heal itself. It would be healed in a few minutes and the scars would fade shortly after.

"Wow." Kmart said showing her a now fully healed hand. "That's so gross... but cool at the same time."

"It can come in handy... I swear that was unintentional." She said realizing the pun.

Kmart giggled and Claire smiled slightly.

So... Do I get to stay?" Alice asked'

"Hmm... We'll see how this goes" Claire said.

Alice thought for a second about going into a town. "You want to protect your people right?" Claire nodded "Then let me go in first. I'll clear most or all of them out and keep an eye out for them while you get supplies."

"I don't know..." Claire said then sighed "If you think you can handle it..."

"Claire, I've damn near cleaned out small cities on my own. Trust me okay?"

Claire met her eyes and hesitantly nodded "Okay."

"Are we there yet?" Kmart asked, eager to see Alice in action.

"Actually... There it is" Claire said pointing to what looked like it had once been a grain tower.

Alice estimated they had fifteen or so minutes till they were there. She casually pulled out her blades and checked that they were still sharp. She obsessively took care of her weapons so naturally they were. Satisfied they were sharp enough to get the job done she checked her guns.

"Jesus,you're just a walking armory aren't you" Claire said.

"If it helps kill undead I'll take it" She said checking to be sure everything was in good condition. "There is roughly fifty undead. I can probably take care of all of them"

"So you can sense them individually?" Claire asked as they drew closer to the town.

"With numbers under 1000 I can tell exactly how many. When we stop I'll let you know how many we're actually up against." Alice said.

Claire just shook her head in disbelief while Kmart looked amazed.

"Sixty" Alice said slicing yet another zombie's head of before moving onto the next. She made it's head explode, with her mind while throwing one of her blades at the last remaining undead."Sixty-two"

When she was certain all undead in the area had been cleared out she started back to where the convoy was waiting on the outskirts of the town.

Claire went wide eyed at the sight of Alice covered head to toe in blood and other things she didn't even want to think about.

"All clear. I'd still be on your guard, more could wander in at anytime" Alice said "Someone have a towel or somethimg?"

A dumbstruck guy with sandy brown hair handed her a towel.

She started wiping herself off "You guys wouldn't happen to have somewhere I can get these washed..."

"Best we can do is wet that. sorry, we need all the fresh water we can get" Claire said handing her a canteen. "Okay people you know the drill, get whatever you can, don't take unnecessary risks, yada yada yada."

The survivors split up into groups, each with at least one person who looked like they could actually handle the weapons they had.

"You can stay, I don't trust you, but I can't deny you could be an essential part of keeping us alive." Claire said. She expected as much, Claire was just as smart as Alice had guessed. Her respect for the woman went up a few notches.

"Works for me. It'll take awhile to get used to being around people again." Alice said looking around. Kmart was rushing over.

"That was completely amazing" She said "You were completely kick ass."

"They're just the undead. They kinda lack anything resembling a challenge." Alice said with a shrug. Then she saw someone else approaching. Someone she knew "Carlos?"

"Alice! Man aren't you a sight for sore eyes" He said walking over.

"Nice to see you too. Where's L.J?"

"Motherfucker" A familar voice said. L.J. emerged from behind an ambulance. "Alice, where the fuck you been?" He walked over and gave her a hug "Shit you got tan. What happend to you."

"Wasn't safe for you guys. Whatever hole Umbrella's hiding away in now, I don't think they'll be to concerned with me. If anything I help them out by chasing after all the undead. Not intentionally of course but..."

"Always liked the danger didn't you?" Carlos said "C'mere you" He pulled her into a bear hug.

"Missed you too guys" Alice said not fully comfortable with her personal space being invaded.

"You three know each other?" Claire asked watching the exchange with an unreadable expression.

"You remember when we first met up with you I told you about Racoon city and I mentioned some badass that was the only reason we got out" He gestured to Alice "This is she"

"Hmm you said you were in racoon city, you never gave specifics"

"Didn't see a need. Not exactly a pleasant place to remember"

"I am sincerely offended" L.J. said. "That's where you met me"

Alice chuckled "Oh yes, a pivitol point in my life"

"You know it" L.J. said.

"Now, reunions aside, don't you two have some work to do" Alice asked seriously "I know you two can use those guns, so go help."

"Always so serious." Carlos said "But as usual, correct. Let's go L.J."

They headed off in the direction the others headed.

"Small world" Alice thought out loud.


	2. Chapter 2

Claire eyed her with clear hostility as Kmart went to go help the adults with the younger children. "Let's get something straight here. I lead this convoy. Just because you're basically a god doesn't mean you can just start ordering people around. So-"

"Claire." Alice said firmly cutting her off which only made the redhead all the more angry "I don't want to take your place. You've done better than I could have. Besides, I don't have the best track record, ask Carlos. People tend to die around me."

Claire regarded her for a few silent moments. "Not just you. There was 90 of us once. Now there's 60"

Alice was silent. "Not your fault. You can't control what happens sometimes and I've seen enough of you to know you would have done everything you could to save them"

Claire looked at her with uncertainy before hesitantly speaking "Thanks. I don't know if I believe you, but thanks"

"No problem. Don't worry, I'm no threat to you or your convoy. I want to help you."

"Why?" She asked.

"Why not? Claire, this is the biggest amount of survivors I've seen in a long time. Human or not I don't want people to die. If I prevent enough deaths... Shit I don't know. I can never make up for what happened but I can sure try."

"So. You're kinda like a bodyguard then."

"I can work with that" Alice said flashing a grin.

Claire was obviously fighting back a grin of her own "So can I."

Alice smirked and watched as the survivors came back with wagonloads of supplies. "I saw a few gas stations in there that looked like they had a decent ammount of juice left in them. I bet we could fill that tanker up and top off the rest of the vehicles."

"How bad were the streets?" Claire asked not daring to be too hopeful.

"Not too bad. A car or two blocking in some places but they can be moved without too much difficulty."

"I don't know... We risk getting swarmed if we stay so close to somewhere that was once so populated."

"I can take the tanker in and fill it up. It could take awhile, but it's better than risking everyone by moving the entire convoy in there."

"I'll come with" Claire said after a moment "Carlos can handle anything that comes up while we're gone"

"You're the boss" Alice said.

"We should do this as soon as possible."

"Agreed" Alice said.

Claire waved Carlos over and explained their plan to him. He disagreed with Claire going, but had little choice. They climbed into the tanker, Alice in the passenger seat with Claire driving.

"Left here" Alice said "It's just around that corner and there is another one two or three blocks away."

They pulled into the station and Alice hopped out. Claire started to fill the truck part of the tanker, while Alice started to fill the tank. There was a surprising amount of gas left and they managed to fill the truck and half the tank.

"This'll last us a year at least" Claire said excitedly "We modded the vehicles to run on a lot less than they used to"

"This is the time when I wish I'd paid attention in science class. Solar power would cut down on that even more." Alice said.

"Ah well... What is it?" She asked noting the look on Alice's face.

"Undead, five of them headed our way, where theres a small group, there'll be more soon." Alice said "I'll take care of these then we should get back to the others"

"Good plan" Claire said reaching into the cab and grabbing a shotgun.

Alice had already unsheathed her blades and was headed towards where Claire could now see five stumbling figures "Alice... be careful"

Alice looked over her shoulder seemingly confused. Then she smiled at Claire, causing her to shiver slightly, before she swung her blades around in a show of skill and started towards the undead again.

* * *

><p>Alice was cleaning off her blades with a piece of one of the undead's shirt, leg casually propped up on the tankers dash as Claire drove back to the rest of the convoy. "So how long are you planning on sticking around?" Claire asked, breaking the silence.<p>

"How long do you intend on letting me stay? I might freak some people out when I start lifting the convoy vehicles to exercise my telekinesis.

"Hmm... Stick to boulders. No shortage of those, and less risk of my vehicles getting trashed." Claire said then paused. "Can you really lift–"

Alice flashed her an evil grin and her pupils dialated, causing the tanker to jerk upwards, hovering just a few inches off the ground. Alice quickly let it down, wiping the small trickle of blood from her nose. "I'm a little out of practice" Alice explained at Claire's worried look.

"A simple yes would have been sufficient" Claire said shaking her head, slightly amazed. "You can stay as long as you like."

"Where's the fun in saying yes?" Alice chuckled as they pulled in near the convoy. Claire hopped out and started hurrying everyone along. Alice wandered over to where an older woman was loading some heavy looking boxes into the back of the bus. Alice simply started helping, nodding as the woman expressed her thanks.

Alice was beginning to see how the convoy managed to stay alive for as long as they had. The second Claire snapped her fingers everyone double timed it. It was only moments before they were back on the road, this time Alice was riding with Carlos and L.J. in one of the other vehicles.

"So how did you two end up here?" Alice asked.

"Well after you left, Jill stuck around for a while. One day we woke up and she was just gone. We ran into Claire a few days later, the convoy was just getting started. Been here ever since." Carlos said

"There are a lot worse places you guys could have ended up" Alice pointed out.

Carlos nodded "So where did you end up for the past few years?"

"Where didn't I end up" Alice smirked "wherever there was a chance I was going to find a fight. I gave up on finding survivors a year after everything went completely too hell."

"You sticking around this time?" L.J. asked, lighting a smoke.

Alice thought about that for a minute. It was strange, being here, talking to people she had betrayed once like nothing had happened. They seemed okay with her though, and she was bored with the life she had been living. "Maybe. It's as good a time as any to start helping out you humans"

The guys both laughed "Still talking like you are aren't one I see." Carlos said.

She smirked. Carlos if you only knew. The only thing human about her was her appearance and her tendency to make mistakes. Her sanity was barely intact and she had a very low tolerance for bullshit, she wouldn't hesitate to punch someone out if they pissed her off Survivor or undead were walking pieces of bullshit in her opinion, they shouldn't exist. Anything Umbrella had brought about needed to die and pissed her off

"What do you think of Claire?" L.J. asked.

"She seems capable enough" Alice pauses "Does she always like to put herself in harms way first or is that a recent development?"

Carlos smirked. " She has always been like that. For someone in a leadership position like her it's been somewhat a good thing and somewhat a bad thing. All the people in this convoy are 100% loyal to her because she wouldn't make them do anything she wouldn't first do herself. Obviously it puts her in danger a lot and we wouldn't last long with me in charge"

Mental note: keep Claire safe so you don't end up taking orders from Carlos. Alice smirked, nothing against Carlos but she knew he was more prone to being a follower. He was capable of leading yes but...

"None of us wanna have to listen to you" L.J pointed out.

"Haha. With Alice here I don't think we'll need to worry about watching out for Claire as much. " he looked at Alice seriously "Watch out for her alright? We know you could easily survive this alone but..."

"Yeah yeah. I'll be good and watch out for her" She'd been planning on it anyways. 

* * *

><p>"Two" Alice said as Carlos and L.J argued with Claire over who got to go check out the old run down motel "I'll get them" She started towards the motel.<p>

"Whoa, slow down" Claire grabbed her wrist "You don't have to kill every undead we find."

"I know" Alice shrugged "I want to. If it keeps survivors out of harms way I'll do it."

Claire studied her for a minute then let go of her wrist "You like killing them don't you."

Alice winced. She did, but it was more due to the excuse to use her endless supply of energy than anything. She had stopped thinking about the fact they were once people with families and feelings a long time ago, it was a pointless train of thought. "I enjoy using my abilities for something not wholly evil."

Claire seemed to be thinking for a moment then shrugged. "All right. Just this once though, if I tell you to stay behind, you will. Agreed?"

Alice resisted the urge to protest and nodded. "Alright. Be back in a second" She turned and headed to the motel, zeroing in on the location of the undead with practiced ease.

* * *

><p>"Don't worry about her Claire" Carlos said as they watched Alice approach the motel.<p>

"I'm not worrying about her getting hurt, I know there is no chance in hell of that happening" She watched as Alice entered the motel "I'm more concerned with convincing the others that having one of Umbrella's experiments around as a body guard is a good idea. Hell I don't even know of it's a good idea."

"Shits gonna be easier with her around." L.J. said.

"He's right Claire. Even before they messed around with her the 1st time she was a skilled fighter. I got ahold of her records when we broke into an Umbrella facility way back, it was pretty damn impressive" Carlos said "Now I don't think anything can stop her."

"That is exactly why she's dangerous" Claire said "Wat if she decides to go back to Umbrella?"

"Claire after what they did to her, there is no chance of that happening. Besides no one has seen those bastards for years" Carlos said. "She's this convoy's best chance to survive this mess, Claire"

Claire bit her lip and stared in the direction of the Motel. Alice had seemed friendly enough with her and K. Carlos and L.J were backing her up as well. Ah what the hell. She'd already told to woman she could stay anyways. It helped that she seemed damn intelligent and Claire had actually quite enjoyed the few conversations they had.

"Okay fine. She can stay."

Carlos grinned an L.J looked at her suspiciously "Now is she sticking around because you want in her pants or because you know she'll kick your ass all over the desert if you don't let her?"

Claire blinked "L.J why do you always assume I need to get laid that badly?"

"Claire, we all know it's been a hell of a long time. We also know it's not Olivera you drool over." L.J pointed out "And for reasons beyond my understanding, ladies love this motherfucker"

"It's the accent" Claire said offhandedly "And no L.J I have no plans to try to 'get in anyone's pants'" She had to admit though, Alice was good looking... Well that may have been an understatement.

The guys merely chuckled then abruptly stopped as three gunshots rang through the air. Alice emerged moments later, waving them over. Claire jumped off the top of the vehicle they were sitting on and hopped into her hummer. "All clear" She announced over the radios " Move in"

Claire sighed at the angry sounds coming from her stomach as she watched the convoy settle down for the night. The majority of them had decided to crowd into the run down motel while a few chose to stay in the vehicles or around the now dying fires. She would have preffered they all stay in the vehicles with the doors locked but who was she to deny them the rare comfort they stumbled across. Sighing as hunger clawed at her insides she decided they probably had enough food that one can of something wasn't going to be missed.

She was about to go dig up something edible when Alice walked up to her and tossed her a can of what the label said was tomato soup. She raised an eyebrow at Alice who had her own can of food.

"Kmart said to give that to you" Alice said with a smirk that Claire was already used to seeing on her face. "I also got ranted to about how you never eat and how I shouldn't be like you in that aspect"

Claire chuckled, that was defiantly a Kmart thing to do. "Thanks. Join me in cooking whatever crap is in these things?" She wasn't completely sure why she offered, it was likely due to the fact that Kmart and Carlos, her usual mealtime companionship were all preoccupied. She also enjoyed Alice's company so far, the woman made for interesting conversation at the least.

Alice shrugged "Sure."

They found themselves seated across a small campfire from eachother eating their canned food in companionable silence. Neither of them really knew what to say to fill that silence so they remained that way until Claire had finished her soup. She sighed feeling full, though pretty sure her stomach had shrunk to the point of no return.

"So what's with the lack of eating? I may not have known you long by I know enough to guess its not for vain or selfish reasons" Alice said continuing to much on what appeared to be some form of spaghetti O's.

Claire looked up and met the other woman's eyes. She looked, really looked, at Alice for the first time durning the hectic day. She was gorgeous, Claire decided, for lack of a better word. There was a strength that seemed to surround her and a cool confidence that Claire knew was not cockiness or arrogance, just something that came along with what she was, who she was and what Claire knew she was capable of. Her face was emotionless usually, amusement had occasionally crossed her features in the small time Claire had been around her, along with the wolffish grin and the smirk. Her eyes reflected the flames from the campfire and Claire had to admit, Alice was damn attractive in many ways. She got the feeling from the mere curiosity she saw in Alice's eyes that she wasn't likely to push the issue at hand and so decided to explain herself.

"It's not for vain reasons. I just... I can't help feeling guilty for eating anything, knowing it could be going to someone else. It's usually worse when times are tough and there is barely enough for everyone and all I can think is that there could be a kid I the convoy that's hungry. I can easily go a week without food, they can't." Claire said looking down as Alice studied her with an unreadable exPression.

Alice eventually spoke after a few minutes. "You look like you could use a smoke"

Claire looked up and saw Alice holding out a faded cigarette package. She tossed it to Claire who was surprised to find it was full. "You are my fucking hero" Claire said feeling around inside her jacket for a lighter then gave up and used the slowly dying fire. She inhaled blissfully and smiled at the blonde sitting across from her "Congrats, you have officially won my friendship"

Alice smirked "Good. I have to agree with Kmart on the eating thing though. Don't worry. If I have anything to say about it, running out of food shouldn't be a problem" Alice said lighting her own smoke.

"How can you be so sure? I mean this food will last us over a moth probably but after that..." Claire looked at her skeptically.

"Trust me, I'd food ever becomes an issue, I can find enough to feed this bunch for years" Alice said that smirk making its way Ono her face yet again.

Claire regarded her for a second "Alright, just this once, I'll trust your word. Find me more smokes and we will see how the rest goes"

Alice smiled and Claiee had to pause a second to take in the way it made her seem younger. The. She found five, faded, but completely full packages of cigarettes at her feet. She just looked at Alice with awe.

An: Ill get the next bit up asap, probably sometime tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

Claire climbed into the front seat of her hummer, six packages of cigarettes richer with a full stomach and a new appreatiation for Alice. She wasn't one to be bought but she definitely didn't get that vibe from the blonde. Claire felt like Alice understood her position as only someone who had once been where she was could. She simply smiled and stashed her new supply of nicotine in the dash and propped herself up against the door in her familiar sleeping position.

Try as she might to sleep, her thoughts kept drifting back to beautiful eyes eyes reflecting the light from a campfire and the small, but genuine smile that had crossed Alice's face. The woman was somewhat of a mystery to her and Claire wanted to learn as much about her as she could. Being curious about anything but where they might find their next meal was a rather new experience for the redhead who finally forced thoughts of Alice from her mind and allowed her body to fall into a deep sleep.

For once Claire woke up and her first thoughts were on finding something to eat. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and allowed herself a few moments to shake he foggy feeling off before stumbling out of the hummer and heading towards a truck they had picked up that they used to hold supplies. She dug around and found something that seemed edible, a fruit of some kind and turned to find Alice looking at her with an amused expression.

Claire walked over and sat down, looking at the other woman suspiciously. The blanket hadn't been used but Alice showed no signs of sleepiness. "You didn't move from that spot all night did you" she was aware her voice had probably taken on a scolding tone but it seemed to amuse the blonde and so she figure she wasn't about to get beat up.

"Nope. Decided to keep my own little watch. Well that and I can't sleep. It's fairly normal for me, I need things a lot less than most humans" Alice said shrugging. It was early and most of the convoy was still asleep, those that were awake had yet to crawl out of their vehicles or emerge from the motel.

"Makes sense" Claire shrugged and opened her can of what appeared to have been peaches. "Yum" she said sarcastically "Want some?"

Alice looked at the canned fruit with the closest thing Claire had see to fear. "last time I ate those, I spent weeks trying to clean the smell off my clothes. An undead decided to interrupt my lunch and somehow I ended up spilling peaches everywhere. I was stick, felt gross and smelled like canned fruit. It wasn't pleasant"

Claire fought back a laugh, then failed to hold back another as Alice firmly pushed the canned fruit in her direction... Causing them to spill all over Clais pant leg.

The both looked at each other Alice about to apologize when Claire simply burst out laughing, Alice letting out her own chuckles. "Oh god" Claire said catching her breath "I needed a laugh. I don't think that's going to cause as much discomfort but still. You jinxed it"

"Claire there is no such thing as jinxes." Alice said, amusement twinkling in her eyes.

"Think what you want" Claire said "Feel like riding with me and K today?"

Alice shrugged " Carlos and LJ are arguing over who gets to ride around with me. Some kind of ego thing or something..." she paused then that wolffish grin made its way onto her face "And wouldn't it just kick them both right in the ego if I chose you and a chatty teen over them."

Claire chuckled "They both need a good kick in the ego every now and then. Kmart was pestering me about asking you yesterday anyways. If you can stand getting your ear talked off you're welcome to tag along"

"Well, the kid can hold up a conversation on her own. Besides maybe I can get some shut eye" Alice said standing up, causing several loud pops. Claire winced and Alice rubbed her neck "ouch"

"That sounded healthy" Claire said sarcastically as they made their way to the hummer. The convoy was waking up and Kmart was awake when they hopped in the front of the H2.

"You asked her!" Kmart said surprised to see Alice.

"Yep." Claire said smiling at the grin plastered on Kmarts face.

"I felt bad about spilling her breakfast all over so I agreed to tag along" Alice told the teen who looked at a loss for words.

"Claire was eating breakfast?" She turned the shocked eyes to the redhead who shrugged.

"Woke up hungrier than all hell and sat down to talk to Alice then ended up not eating any of because it ended up all over my leg" Claire shrugged "Don't act like its some kind of freaking miracle"

"But it is" Kmart said turning back to Alice. "What did you do to her" Kmart said in mock suspicion.

"Figured out that the way to a Claires heart is through cigarettes?" Alice chuckled as the redhead scowled "I didn't do anything other than deliver the food, as I was told"

Kmart just shook he head in disbelief. "Alright don't tell me" The teen said then turned to Claire "So where are we headed today?"

"There is an old mansion a few hours north of here that we think should have some supplies we can use." Claire said. "We are stopping to check out an old gas station along the way."

Kmart nodded and then turned to Alice. "So, Alice. I'm curious about some of your abilities"

Alice sighed and received a knowing look from Claire who alerted the rest of the convoy they would be leaving in ten minutes.

-  
>When they reached the small gas station Carlos and L.J volunteered to go in first. Alice figured they could deal with the single undead in the area and so stayed put in the hummer patiently answering the teens questions.<p>

"Can you fly?" Kmart asked, Apperantly taking notes on her abilities, which made her slightly uneasy as it reminded her of a time when she was a lab rat having much the same thing done.

Claire snorted "Of course she can't K."

Kmart looked at Claire with mock annoyance before looking at Alice.

"Truth be told I haven't tried" Alice said. She supposed it might be possible. If she can lift a truck off the ground while she's inside it, why should she not be able to lift herself. "There are a few ways that I might be able to do something resembling flying"

Claire just shook her head and watched for the all clear sign from L.J. or Carlos.

Kmart wrote down something and Alice took the few moments of silence to look out the window. She let her eyes close, surprised to find herself tired. She let her mind wandered and she eventually started to doze off.

"Kmart, let the woman sleep" Claire was Scolding the teen.

"But Claire" Kmart protested.

"No buts, now put in your headphones" Claire said and kmart grudgingly did what she was told, pulling out an old iPod touch that somehow was kept charged.

When Alice was sure the teen Was preoccupied with her iPod and not paying them any attention, she smirked and said " Thanks, I need a few moments of peace and quiet."

Claire chuckled "I know the feeling" She smiled back at the teen affectionately "As much as I love the kid, she tends to try and chat my ear off"

Alice smiled, just slightly "She's a good kid. She absolutely adores you by the way, she took to following me around last night and all she talked about was how awesome you are"

Claire chuckled "Sorry about that. I'm sure she was exagerating"

Alice looked at her for a minute then said "I don't think she was. You seem like an exceptionally awesome person. I mean I could never have kept these people alive for this long, or have ever gathered this many. It's a pretty awesome thing in my opinion."

"Thanks, I don't always know if what I'm doing is right or why I even bother anymore but it's nice that at least someone thinks I'm doing a good job." Claire said before she saw LJ waving them over. She started up the hummer and gave the order to move in.

Alice looked at her small campfire and smiled. Strange how something so simple could feel so very much like home. She had been with the convoy for a few weeks now and had developed a comfortable routine of sorts. She would sleep outside at a campfire, just slightly away from the mass of vehicles. Then she would usually ride with Claire and Kmart while they traveled, then get rid of any undead around a location they planned to scavenge that day and help gather and load supplies. Then she helped the other members of the convoy set up camp and made her own little place to sit through the night. She also, due to her own concern and encouragement from Kmart, made sure that Claire ate something at least once a day. The woman was looking better for it now. She had noticeably more energy and had managed to put on a bit of weight and Kmart had chalked it up to another one of Alice's abilities.

Claire walked over to her and tossed her a flashlight "Our turn for watch duty"

Alice stood up and shook the sand off of her clothes. "Ladies first" she said gesturing to the top of the tanker. Claire snorted and shoved her playfully.

"Call me a lady again and see if you keep all your teeh" she said in mock outrage before smiling at Alice and climbing up the tanker.

"My mistake" Alice called up after her redheaded friend and climbed up herself.

Claire was sprawled out on her back lookig up at the sky, something she only did when Alice was her partner for watch duty. She knew Alice enough to know that if there was any danger she wouldn't hesitate to alert them to it.

"Where do you take off to all the time" Claire asked peering up at her. "I looked for you earlier to tell you we got stuck with this but I couldn't find you anywhere"

Alice smirked. "I was running. I have to burn off the excess energy somehow otherwise I'm just a twitchy wreck all night."

Claire chuckled "Alice you are the only person I know that keeps up a workout schedule during an apocalypse"

Alice smiled slightly "Well Unless you want me lifting the vehicles during a random daydream or something, it's nessacary."

Claire just grinned then sat up. "So what did Carlos want?"

Alice snorted "Claire what does Carlos always want whenever I decide to ride with him? He flirts with me more thank Kmart flirts with him."

Claire smirked "You are seriously not interested in him? That makes you a minority here"

Alice just thought for a second "Nope. He's a good friend but that's all."

"Kmart will be soas to hear that" Claire said shivering slightly "Damn it's cold"

"You always forget to wear a jacket" Alice scolded and then pulled a blanket out of her bag "Here. The last thing we need is you catching a cold. I'd have to take orders from Carlos and hell will freeze over again before I let that happen."

Claire chuckled and took the offered blanket wrapping it around herself. "Thanks."

They sat there chatting about nothing in particular for an hour or so before Alice started to feel the cold a little bit as well. She thought about asking Claire to share the blanket but found that idea far to appealing for reasons other than being warm. As much as she wanted and cared about Claire, she was determined that she wouldn't be the one to say anything. She enjoyed their friendship too much to risk complicating it and with how closebtogetherbthey would have to be to share the small blanket, Alice didn't know if she would be able to stop herself from doing something stupid. So she decided to tough it out and deal with the cold.

She would have done just that had Claire not seen her shiver.

She simply looked Alice in the eye and demanded "Alice, get your ass over here, right now"

One simply can not say no to Claire when she demands something like that. "Yes ma 'am" she said with a mock salute and shifted over to the redhead who wrapped the blanket around the both of them.

Alice almost instantly felt a lot warmer, and it had very little to do with the blanket and Alice had to stop herself from leaning against the redhead that was radiating heat. "Thanks" Alice said trying to keep their close proximity off her mind.

"No problem" Claire said smiling at her "You spend half your time making sure I'm taken care of, it's the least I can do in return."

Alice returned the smile and looked out over the desert, eyes looking for any movement, almost hoping for it. She definitely needed to burn off more energy now. "Kmart would have a fit if I stopped now." Alice said looking over at Claire again "Besides, I worry less this way."

"You worry about me?" Claire asked looking slightly surprised.

"We all do, Claire. I just do something about it" Alice said "I don't like worrying"

A heavy silence settled over them for a few minutes and Alice looked out over the desert again, sensing and seeing nothing of an infected nature. She was slightly disappointed and slightly thankful, part of her wanted nothing more than to go rip some undead heads off to get rid of the nervous energy racing through her veins, but the other part wanted nothing more than to stay wrapped up warm and comfortable with Claire.

"Thanks" Claire said nudging her in in ribs playfully. "It's nice to be worried over once in awhile. All I do is worry about everyone else, I guess I forget that I need to take care of myself sometimes. Thanks for being here to remind me."

Alice smiled "Well we can't have you starving or freezing to death. Then who would I worry over?"

Claire smiled slightly, then left Alice with the blankets are she lied on her back and looked up at the stars again. Alice fought to keep the fond smile from creeping across her face and returned her attention to keeping her senses focused on the undead. They were out there, but so far away that she doubted any would be able to make it here in under three days. They were slow and decaying, thank god for that, it might take decades but eventually they would be gone. If they could find as many survivors as they could and keep them safe maybe humanity had a chance.

"Kmart found my stash of booze today" Claire sid with an annoyed sigh. I'm supposed to get rid of it, she says it's bad enough that I smoke. Not like I ever get a chance to drink anyways"

"How in the hell did you get a hold of any alcohol?" Alice asked looking at her surprised "I looked for a year and only found the occasional unopened bottle of something."

"Well putting myself in dangerous situations first has it's perks" She said grinning "Either people feel like they owe me or i find it before others do. It's not much but hey, saving it for a rainy day."

"I haven't seen rain since shit hit the fan." Alice said "I kinda miss it."

"Yeah what I wouldn't give to see a storm cloud every now and then." Claire said "Even just one."

"Ah but how would you watch the starts then?" Alice teased "Why do you look at them anyways?"

Claire seemed reluctant to answer and Alice sensed it was probably something pretty personal.

"I don't really know." She said finally "It just gives my mind some rest from the constant fear that we all have to live with, You know? Just a few minutes or something where you can simply not think about anything important"

Alice pondered that. That was kind of what her running was for, all she had to think about was putting one foot in front of the other and not falling. She wasn't worrying about the convoy or Claire, just simply running. "Yeah I know"

Claire smiled and they sat there for the next few hours of their watch in relative silence, occasionally talking about something or other that wasn't important. Alice liked nights like this, when the two of them could sit and talk without Kmart or someone butting in to their conversations, or simply just enjoy being around each other.

She had no idea if Claire liked it as much as she did but hey, she was feeling. It was rare for her to feel anything other than mild curiosity over something or boredom. She felt peaceful out here at night and as for Claire... she didn't know.

* * *

><p>An:Yeah yeah I know its shitty but my writing is waaayyy outta whack after not touching a keyboard for a few months and not having to write anything for just as long. Plus I don't have a lot of time to use my home computer when no one is around and if my mom ever read any of this, well id be fucked, Shes a raging homophobe sometimes and i'd really rather not have that particular discussion with her sooo...<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Chase and Mikey came to relieve them a bit early and Claire headed back to the hummer then paused and turned to Alice "Why don't you sleep in the hummer tonight" Claire offered "It's colder than usual out here and Kmart decided to stay in the ambulance with Betty."

Claire was sure she was going to reject her offer then Alice merely shrugged and nodded "Sure"

"Back seat is all yours" Claire said hopping into the front and grabbing her blanket off the floor. Alice still had the one from earlier so she wasn't concerned with finding her one.

Alice climbed in, shutting the door quietly behind her and unwrapped the blanket she had with her. "Why'd K stay with Betty?" Alice asked curiously.

"She said Betty was teaching her medic stuff or something" Claire said stifling a yawn. "Are you going to actually sleep willingly or do I have to stay up and make sure you do? You're not a machine Alice, I've sen you sleep maybe once and you've been here for weeks now."

"Claire" Alice said looking at her with amusement "It's not something I can control. If I'm tired, I'll sleep, If I'm not I stay awake. Can't be helped, and I am definitely not tired right now."

Claire sighed "Fine, but at least try?"

"I'll try" Alice said wrapping the blanket around herself. "You need the sleep more than I do anyways, so sleep"

"I'm serious Alice. Sleep" Claire warned before making herself comfortable and allowing hersMelf to doze off.

She was jolted awake by a hand covering her mouth only an hour or so later. She blinked fogging and recognized Alice making a shushing motion above her.

"There is three undead closing in. Mikey and chase must not have spotted them, they are almost in the camp, just outside the perimeter" Alice said removing her hand and pulling the upper half of her body into the back, Claire heard her loading her guns. "Just wanted to give you fair warning" she said before quietly making her way out of the hummer.

Claire sat up and stretched before grabbing her gun. She was not letting Alice have all the fun. She quietly climbed out of the hummer. Alice turned and silently regarded her and she was sure for a moment Alice was going to tell her to get back in the hummer, but the woman merely nodded and pointed to her left. If Claire squinted she could just see the three staggering forms. She followed Alice closer, the blonde seemed so casual about killing them. This was the one aspect where Claire would willingly give up her leadership for a time, when it came to killing the undead, no one compared to the blonde.

She made it look so easy. She stopped and turned to Claire "Don't waste the bullets. This should be easy"

Claire merely shrugged and lowered her weapon. "You have your blades?" ClairIe asked, not seeing them on her.

Alice smirked. "I'm just as deadly without them. Always been good with my hands"

Claire merely watched in amusement as Alice casually strode over to the stumbling figures. Then she was a blur of motion and Claire heard two loud snaps and a third shortly after.

She expected Alice to walk back right away but after five minutes of staring into the darkness where she'd diss appeared Claire started to worry. "Alice?"

"Yes Claire?" a voice sounded from directly behind her causing her to let out a startled squeal and jump forwards and trip, landing on her ass looking up at a very amused blonde.

"That wasn't funny"Claire growled, very much angry at the blondes joke.

Alice schooled her features into seriousness. "Of course no. I didn't mean to frighten you"

"You didn't. Startled might be a better word" Claire said, letting her anger out in a huff as she took the hand a now grinning Alice offered her... Then pulled her down into the sand, quickly jumping up and grinning down at the honestly surprised woman. "Paybacks"

Alice smiled, not just the tiny half smiles or smirk like grins that Claire usually saw, but a full out, ear reaching smile. Claire's heart skipped a beat and she had to hold back a torrent of emotions that she really didn't want to deal with before returning the smile and offered Alice her hand.

The woman pulled her town next to her. "Okay it was funny the first time, now I'm just tired of having sand in my clothes" Claire said to the blonde who raised her hands in a gesture of innocence.

"I swear that was an accident, I forgot my own strength for a minute." Alice said shaking sand out of her hair.

"How do you forget about that?" Claire asked, not believing the other woman even though she seemed sincere.

Alice looked at her, with that intense gaze that made Claire feel like her very sole was being stared at. "You." Alice said causing Claire to give her a confused look "I feel human around you and Kmart, I guess I just forgot for a second how far from human I actually am"

Claire looked at her, seeing the hurt that Alice so rarely let anyone glimpse, and said "You're more human than you give yourself credit for, Alice" She saw the confused look cross the other woman's face and continued "Emmotions are what separate us from animals, and the undead. I know you are capable of that, more so than half the survivors we came across, you can still smile and I've seen you worry." She place a hand on Alice's shoulder "The only difference is you have abilities. That you choose to use them defending us is just another example of how human you really are" Claire stood up, Alice following.

Alice just looked at her, in disbelief it seemed. Claire sigh and then pulled the woman into a hug "Deny it all you want Alice, you're not the monster you think you are" No, Claire mused, you could have feelings for a monster. She felt Alice hesitantly wrap her arms around her and Claire smiled. Monsters don't hug.

Claire pulled back slightly not breaking the hug, just needing to see that Alice believed her. She was suprised to find that Alice seemed to be on the verge of tears, sure enough, a single tear made it's way down her cheek and Claire didn't stop the urge to wipe it away. Somehow doing it felt just so natural and she voiced her next thought out loud "Monster's do not cry"

A few more tears made their way down Alice's face as the blonde struggled to keep her pent up emotions at bay, but Claire knew how hard that could be and how nice it was to let it all out once in awhile and she was determined to be there for Alice if she did.

Alice didn't do as Claire had expected, and Claire knew she should never expect anything from Alice as the woman was prone to doing the unexpected, but she wasn't unhappy with it. She reached up to brush away another tear and this time her hand lingered on Alice's jaw. There was very little space between them and Alice met her eyes, next thing she knew their lips were brushing against rather other, lightly at first then more firmly as Alice realized that Claire wasn't going to push her away.

It felt right somehow, Claire mused as she place her other hand on the other side of Alice's face, deepening the kiss, being here with Alice.

Alice broke the contact and looked down at her with an unreadable expression. Claire decided that sometimes actions spoke louder than words and she pulled Alice closer again, this time without the hesitation of before. Alice responded instantly, stealing Claire's breath away and causing her heart to hammer in her chest.

This time Claire was the one to break the contact as the need for air became too great. "Woha" she let out breathlessly.

"Woha" Alice agreed and Claire realized this was the first time she had seen her out of breath. Good to know that was a mutual thing.

"Wha-" Claire was cut off by shouts coming from the camp as the perimeter alarm went off. Claire looked to Alice who seemed confused.

"It's nothing infected. Give me a second" Alice said taking a deep breath and stepping away from Claire, concentrating on her abilities Claire guessed.

"It was a bug of some sort. It landed on one of the sensors I think" Alice said after a few seconds.

Claire let out a sigh of relief, though she doubted Alice would miss an infected getting within 100 fee of the perimeter, even when her thoughts had been elsewhere. "Where the hell does a butterfly come from?"

"I have no clue" Alice said shaking her head.

"Claire? Alice?" came the panicked shouts from the camp.

"We should get back there" Claire said "We will be talking about this"

Alice nodded in agreement and followed after her. The camp was silent save Chase, Mikey and Carlos scrambling around looking for them.

"There you two are. Perimeter was tripped but we can find any sign of the undead" Carlos said as he spotted and walked over to them.

"It wasn't an Undead" Alice said simply "You are all getting worked up over a butterfly"

"She took care of the real threat half an hour ago" Claire said enjoying the shocked expressions on their faces. "Now if you don't mind I'd like to get some sleep before we take off"

Alice sniggered at the faces looking at the two of them. She had a glint in her eyes that Claire had never seen there before, Alice seemed... Giddy? Well that's how Claire felt so why should Alice not have the same feeling.

"Sorry about that" Carlos said as Mikey and Chase went back to watch. "You still sleeping outside Alice? Have some room in there with Chase up there"

Claire looked curiously at Alice who half smiled at her then said to Carlos "Sorry, Claire so kindly offered to share the hummer tonight."

"Ah well, good night" he said quickly heading back to his truck, obviously having just been kicked right in the ego.

Alice turned to Claire and gestures to the hummer. Claire grinned and made her way over, hopping in the front seat, pulling Alice in after her.

They sat in silence for what seemed like forever, when it was actually probably only a few minutes, before either one of them could say anything.

"Where did that come from" Claire asked looking at Alice, who seemed at a loss of what to say.

"I just... Couldn't stop myself any longer" Alice said a thoughtful look on her face "And what you said to me just brought up a lot of old pains I had hurried away"

"Any longer?" Claire said Quirking an eyebrow. "How long?"

"Well that depends. How long have I been attracted to you or how log have I had feelings for you?" Alice looked at her, was that fear she saw there? Of what rejection? That wasn't going to happen.

"Both"Claire said, curiosity getting the better of her

"Well I was attracted to you from day one. I don't know exactly when I started having feelings towards you. I just realized one day while I was bringing you something to eat That I actually cared if you ate it, that was the beginning I guess but..."

"You don't know how or when it happened, it just did?" Claire said giving her a knowing look.

They looked at eachother in silence for a moment before Claire looked away "I'm glad I'm not the only one" she smirked "LJ is going to pitch a fit."

Alice raised an eyebrow.

"When you first got here he was teasing me, I told him there was no chance of the two of us ever getting together." Claire said "But now...I.."

Alice looked at her for a long moment before opening her arms and saying "C'mere"

Actions over words, Claire mused and Made her way over to Alice, feeling the strong arms wrap around her. She shifted around a bit to make the both of them more comfortable, her head tucked under Alice's chin.

They stayed like that for awhile, just enjoying how right it felt till Claire noticed that Alice actually seemed tired.

"C'mon" Claire said gesturing to the backseat. "More room back there"

Alice agreed and after some shifting and stumbling they managed to squeeze onto the backseat, Claire resting her head on Alice's shoulder with Alice's arms around her. She felt Alice's breathing level out and her eyes went to Alice's face. She was obviously asleep, because never had she looked so peaceful. Claire smiled and put her head back down on her newfound pillow, feeling very safe and comfortable, and let sleep take her.

-  
>Claire woke as the first rays of sunlight hit her eyelids. It took a few moments for the sleepy haze to clear before she realized who exactly it was that had their arms around her and how she came to be in this position. She stretched, several popping noises filling the hummer's interior.<p>

A low chuckled sounded from the body that was now pretty much underneath her "That sounded healthy"

"Hmm" Claire hummed happily resettling herself so her head was propped up on her hands and she could look at Alice "Morning"

"Morning" Alice said smiling and stretching, several more pops, then she relaxed and sighed. "Well this certainly beats waking up to sand everywhere"

"I'll say" Claire said smiling down at her "Sleep well?"

"Suprisingly yes" Alice said propping herself up do she was at eye level with Claire. "Where are we headed today?"

"Depends, any undead on the radar?"

"None that are going to be here in less than three days" Alice said.

"We'll stay here for a day" Claire said stifling a yawn "Then we're headed for Canada"

"Why Canada?" Alice asked

"Why not?" Claire asked with a raised eyebrow.

Alice just grinned and shook her head "Good a place as any. Is anyone else up yet?"

"You already know that better than I do" Claire said, knowing Alice could sense infected beings, as well as the living ones.

"Hmm. Sounds like everyone is still asleep" Alice said.

"Let them sleep in" Claire said resting her forehead against Alice's.

"Just so you can get away with lazing around with me for a few hours?" Alice asked smiling as one hand came to rest on the side of Claire's face. Claire leaned into the contact almost against her will then closed the little distance between them.

Claire let her hands wander Alice's body freely, coming to rest on her stomach before she found herself on her back with a smug looking Alice looking down at her. She pulled Alice down for another kiss.

Alice had been in the process of removing Claire's shirt when she suddenly froze.

"What?" Claire asked seeing the 'oh shit' expression on her face. She tried to calm her ragged breathing down.

"We have thirty seconds before Kmart gets here" Alice said also struggling to slow down her erratic breathing.

It took a moment for the words to sink in. The she was shoving Alice off her and climbing into the front of the vehicle. If Kmart found out about this, she would never live it down, and more than that the girl would gossip to the entire convoy. She shot Alice a longing look and let out a frustrated huff.

Alice chuckled as she ran her fingers through her hair trying to look more presentable.

"Claire are you up?" Kmart asked peering in the window. Claire forced a smile and gestured for the teen to join her in the front seat. Kmart cheerfully hopped in next to her.

"Morning K" Claire said, thankfully having gotten control over her breathing. Whew, she should probably not be close to Alice for the rest of the day, otherwise things might get... Distracting.

"Good morning" Kmart said cheerfully.

"Well good morning to you too Kmart, nice to see you" Alice said as Kmart jumped in suprise, noticing the blonde for the first time.

"Woah where did you come from?"

"You guys picked me up in the middle of the desert, remember?" Alice joked. Claire was envious of her ability to remain as calm as she was after that.

"Haha."Kmart said "You know what I meant"

"Since you weren't hear, Claire offered to let me crash in here after we got off watch duty" Alice said flashing a grin in Claire's direction. 'Breathe Claire, breathe' she had to remind herself.

"Cool. Figured she'd get you to sleep inside eventually." Kmart said and started to chat away.

Claire nodded and smiled to whatever the the teen was saying, only half paying attention, while sneaking glances at Alice who was staring at her almost constantly with that amused smirk plastered on her face.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>Claire forced herself to leave the hummer and go make sure the convoy was doing alright and to go tell Carlosbthey weren't going anywhere today. They were stopped at a motel that had rooms in pretty good shape, as well as mostly clean sheets. The idea of curling up in one of those beds with Alice made her decide that they were definitely staying till they got to sleep in a bed, most of the convoy had listened to her warnings and stayed in their vehicles for the night. She was sure there was a room her and Alice could lock themselves in for awhile.<p>

She could always dream couldn't she? No they'd probably end up sleeping in the hummer with Kmart there unable to do anything. She sighed and make her way around the camp, checking that everyone had gotten their food and was doing alright. The. She set out to find Carlos and inform him they were staying for another day.

She needed a lookout set up and Carlos and the convoy's science nerd Ashley were the ones who had dodged that duty for awhile now and Claire was feeling grumpy, so they didn't get relieved until sunset. They could have a break every now and then of course, now that Alice was here she wasn't worried about an undead getting anywhere near them.

She spotted Carlos talking to LJ and Betty and made her way over to them.

"So the perimeter was tripped last night right? What happened?" Kmart asked Alice as they sat in the hummer, thankfully it was parked in the shade of what appeared to have once been some kind of gardening shed"

"It was a bug that landed on the sensors, me and Claire were already out near the perimeter when it went off, because there was a few undead that I didn't see a need to wake everyone up about." Alice explained, holding back slightly more fond memories of being out by the perimeter. Her mind was definately elsewhere as the teen chatted with her.

"Huh." kmart said and suddenly an alarm went off through the camp. "The perimeter?"

"It's nothing undead" Alice said. No matter how unfocused her thoughts are she would have sensed an undead before it could trip the perimeter. She expanded her senses and frowned "I think it's a survivor... They have a dog with them" she said in suprise.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Kmart said hopping out of the vehicle, Alice followed quickly not wanting the teen to get hurt. Claire either for that matter. She knew the other woman was completely capable of taking care of herself but still...

Claire and the others were surrounding not one, but two people and a snarling blue Merle Australian Shepard

The survivors were both teens, probably only a year or two older than Kmart, with long black hair, the other with shoulder length blonde hair. The shorter of the two with black hair was dressed in a black leather jacket, black and grey striped tank top, torn up skinny jeans and black boots that went midway up her calf. She had a sawed off shotgun held loosely in one hand at her side and what looked like some kind of sword in the other.

The other girl was a good couple inches taller than the other and had no weapons that Alice could see, she was dressed in much the same outfit as the other girl and Alice was startled by the emptiness in her eyes. No, not emptiness, just disinterest.

"Drop the weapons" Claire said calmly.

The dark haired teen did as she was told, sliding the sword into a sheath then setting the sheathe and her gun in the sand. Standing this close to the teenagers Alice realized that she had in fact been wrong. They were infected, in much the same way Alice had been the first time, the dog was as well which explained why they had lasted this long. She sense something off about the blonde's virus though. It was different and Alice got the feeling that it may be the same, or a similar strand of t-virus as hers. That meant umbrella.

"Claire."Alice said. "Their infected"

Guns were instantly raised. Claire looked at her curiously "About to become a walking corpse infected or like you infected"

The smaller girls eyes rose to Alice's face, they were the darkest brown Alice had ever seen, nearly black.

"Like me, well, mostly. They are not contagious" Alice said. It wasn't common knowledge that Alice was infected, but it was understood that she was no threat to them.

Claire lowered her gun "What's your names?"

"Gwen" the dark haired girl said looking at Alice curiously as she stroked her dogs blue Merle fur. "This is Six."

Six looked at Alice for the first time since she had shown up and Alice saw something akin to recognition in her eyes, but it faded and she looked away, thinking. There was a strange sense of deja-vu about both girls, especially the blonde.

-

An: I had a brain storm in the middle of the night after rereading an old Alice/Carlos fiC Hadvar on my profile and decided I need to change some stuff. The next chapters are rewrittenair being rewritten. Ithink you guyswill like it


	5. Chapter 5

Kmart had taken Gwen and Six into the motel and gotten her settled in for the night, after making Alice promise to sleep in the hummer she agreed to keep the new girl company. Alice smirked as she looked at the very naked woman who was sleeping deeply on top of her. Like she hadn't already planned to sleep here. As much as Claire had worn her out she still wasn't able to fall asleep, much to her annoyance because she sure felt tired.

Claire shifted slightly in her sleep and let out a sigh. Alice felt that damned smile creeping upon her face again, as it had every time she had though about Claire. She was just so... Beautiful, cute, adorable and she had such a strong personality. Alice mused that she never really stood a chance when it came to Claire, anything the redhead wanted or needed, she had gotten if Alice had the power to get it. It had been that way the second she joined the convoy and Alice knew that if Claire asked her to move mountains, she would find a god damned way to do exactly that. She also knew that Claire would never ask for anything for herself. This convoy was her life, the thing that she was living for, just as Claire was now what Alice lived for. So by extension the convoy was a part of what she lived for, because if something happened to them she knew there was a good chance that Claire would give up.

She was determined not to let that happen. She didn't know what exactly she felt for Claire, but it was the strongest form of emotion she had felt since the world ended, maybe even before that. She hadn't exactly been the nicest person before the hive incident, even she thought she was a bitch at that point in her life. She had been almost as cold and uncaring as she was before finding the convoy. Being around people had taken some getting used to, she still wasn't a social person and only had regular interactions with Carlos, LJ, Claire and Kmart, she still wasn't comfortable with anyone invading her personal space.

She looked at the redhead wrapped in her arms and smirked, almost anyone. She also knew only a few people in the convoy trusted her but that didn't matter a whole lot, they trusted Claire enough to not both her any. The only people who's trust she cared about was Claire's, maybe kmart's as well. She liked to think they trusted her, but she could never be sure of that.

"I do trust you, Alice"

Alice blinked in suprise and looked at Claire "Was I saying that all out loud?"

"Most of it" Claire said propping herself up with one arm. "If I didn't trust you, we wouldn't be here"

Alice smiled "Then I'm very glad you do trust me" she said and kissed her "because I very much want to be here, far more than I want to be anywhere else"

Claire smiled "Good, because I very much want you here" she returned to her previous resting place letting out a comfortable sigh.

Alice knew they had to get up soon, she could sense convoy members moving around in their vehicles and it wouldn't be long before Kmart came looking for them, but for the first time in a long time she could really care less about any of that. There was just Claire, that was all that really mattered to her right now.

"I'm also glad you don't mind me invading your personal space, because I enjoy doing it"

Alice chuckled and stretched then settled her hands on Claire's back, gently tracing along the skin there. They stayed like that till Alice sensed Kmart and a few others moving around and realized the teen would likely be on her way there in a few minutes. They scrambled to get dressed and make themselves at least somewhat presentable before the arrival of Kmart and her new friend.

It was business as usual, Kmart chatting away at them from the back seat while Alice and Claire listened and responded when nessacary. Alice had decided to sit in the back with Kmart on the chance that she might learn something about Six and Gwen.

"Hey Claire?" Kmart said with a suspicious sounding tone.

"What's up, k?" Claire asked, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Is that a hickey?"

Alice had to hold back the laughter as Claire's face went from being happy, to 'oh shit, busted'

"Well?" Kmart said impatiently.

"I don't know" Claire said shrugging.

Alice chuckled "Let me see" she moved Claire's hair out of the way. "Yup" she grinned at Claire receiving an eye roll.

"Claire" Kmart said seriously "Who?"

"Why does it matter?" Claire asked and Kmart got a slightly confused look on her face.

"Because you're like a mother to me and I want to know"

Claire sighed and Alice looked over at Kmart then examined the hickey that caused this slightly awkward situation "Oh yeah, I remember doing that" she said, holding back a chuckle as Claire blushed.

Kmart nearly choked "What!"

"Oh c'mon Kmart" Alice said with an amused smirk "You had to have seen this coming"

Kmart just laughed "I did, I just didn't think it would happen so soon"

Claire seemed to relax at Kmart accepting the situation. "Think you can keep this to yourself for awhile?" she asked Kmart.

Alice looked at the teenager, she was pouting. "Just for a week or two, please K?"

The teen let out an annoyed sigh "Fine, but I'm sleeping in the front"

"What you assume I'm sleeping I the hummer all the time now?"

"If you don't Claire will be sad. You don't want a sad Claire bossing people around do you?" Kmart said.

Claire just shook her head and mumbled "Sure, just talk about me like I'm not sitting right here"

Alice chuckled "Well if you can put up with the two of us cuddling back here then fine, I'll stay. I certainly do not want an unhappy Claire"

"Hey Claire" Carlos' voice over the radio.

"What's up" Claire asked looking around for any sort of threat.

"Think we can stop for a break?"

"Sure, we can stop for twenty minutes or so, then we have to get back on the road." Claire said slowing the hummer down and coming to a stop as the other vehicles followed suit.

Kmart shifted around trying to get comfortable, she usually fell asleep by this point. "I'll sit in the front"

Kmart just shrugged. Alice hopped out of the hummer and stretched before climbing in the front.

"Hey Alice" Carlos' voice over that radio again.

"What?" She asked stealing the Radio from Claire.

"Wanna come ride with me?"

Alice rolled her eyes, getting an amused smirk from Claire. "No thanks I'm fine here"

"Aww c'mon you know you want to"

Claire rolled her eyes and took the radio from Alice. "She said no Carlos. Besides, I'm tired and unless you want another incident with Kmart driving..."

"Hey!" came the outraged squeak from the teen.

"Oh all right" Carlos said. "Later guys"

Claire put the radio down and looked at Alice "I was serious by the way, would you mind driving?"

"Sure" Alice said "We didn't really get all that much sleep last night so-"

"I didn't need to know that" Kmart said making a face. Alice chuckled and switched seats with Claire.

_

They had picked up another passenger before setting out, Gwen had gotten bored of being on the bus with most of the kids and Kmart had willingly agreed to share the backseat with her and Rex.

Alice looked at the girl curiously, there was something scarily familiar about the girl. The attitude, her looks and the way she spoke were all familiar. Now if she could just figure out why.

"So where were you from, Gwen?" Alice asked curiously.

"I used to live in Raccoon City but we managed to make it out when the outbreak started." She said making a face "My mother and father didn't last long when it all started going to hell"

"How did you end up infected?" Alice said masking her suprise at the mention of Raccoon City.

"I tried to hole up in a house after my family died. My older sister had taught me how to fight and fire a gun, so I had made out okay till that point. Most of the city was infected by that point" she paused "It happened by accident. I ended up having to try and snap one of the undeads neck, and in the process I got some of it's blood in my eyes and mouth. I had a nasty cut on my forehead too"

"So you got infected by blood transmission?"

"Yeah. I thought I was going to die for a few days, everything hurt and I could feel things mutating on the inside" she winced at the memory "then it just stopped. I felt stronger and my reflexes were better, that was just at first though. I started to be able to do more and more strange things. Jumping over a building for example."

"Yeah, the virus is a progressive thing. The longer it's in your system the stronger you get" Alice said "So where does Six come in?"

"When I realized the undead couldn't sense me I the same way they sense most people I got the hell out of that city. Not long after I found Rex here mauling a horde of undead and realized the same thing has happened to him." she paused to scratch the australian shepard's head "after that I just avoided the undead whenever I could and collected supplies here and there. I was actually planning to head north when I found Six. She was tearing undead apart with her bare hands, as well as her mind."

Alice blinked. "Telekinesis?"

"Yeah. We've been together since then, it's like half a year now, and she was leading me out this way. She said something about just having this gut feeling, that we should head this way. When she does talk that is, she has spoken all of ten words to me since we met, to tell me her name, to tell me how to use my sword properly and to explain where we were going."

"No idea where she came from?"

"None, just that she claims to have never had a family, and shes been alone since birth."

Huh. The girl had struck Alice as strange and oddly familiar. Maybe it was that they had the same virus, or the same colored eyes... Come to think about it Six kind of looked like her. Her eyes widened slightly, not just kind of, she was damn near a carbon copy of her at that age. There was a few differences, her nose was smaller and she was a little smaller in her build than Alice had been.

Claire looked at her as if on some unspoken cue, Alice saw the concern and made mental note to corner the blonde and ask her what the hell was going on, and then have a talk with Claire. Alice forced a smile at the redhead, who then hesitantly turned her attention back to the road. Alice managed to still the spinning in her head.


	6. Chapter 6

Alice spotted the blonde sitting near a camp fire. There was dirt smudged across her face and she was looking blankly into the fire. Alice resisted the urge to simply attack the girl, reminding herself that she really didn't Know what was going on and decided it was a sensitive situation that she should probably approach delicately.

She sat down next to her "Hey"

The girl looked at her and tilted her head, before looking back towards the fire "You are her."

Alice blinked "What?"

The girl seemed to be struggling to word what she wanted to say in her head. "They tried to show me to hate you. To kill you but they failed."

"Who?" Alice asked, every hair on the back of her neck stood up.

The girl bit her lip and her eyebrows creased in concentration and she traced a pattern in the sand. Alice felt her lips curl into a snarl at the sight of the umbrella logo.

"They made me, but decided not to keep me. I lack social skills, when they sped up my growth, they did not want the hasle of teaching me to talk. So I learn what I could from Gwen or other humans."

Alice pushed her rage at Umbrella aside "How old are you?"

The girl held up 2 fingers "They said you were bad. I don't think you are."

Alice smirked "It depends on who you ask, Do you have a mother or father?"

"I was made in a glass tube" she said, her voice changing like she was reciting something from memory "They used DNA from Project Alice and an unknown male to create me, subject six of seven. Five failures, one half success, power acquisition was sucess and subject six showed the most promise, her brain activity is often off the charts and her reasoning and understanding of her environment are higher than we ever anticipated, unfortunately due to the failure to implant Alice's memories and the emotions we want behind them, the experiment has no speech capabilities and while we could easily teach her, we fear their may not be enough time to school her in even the basics. Our best hope lies with subject seven and the successful memory implantation which we believe we found the problem to. Thus we are letting the subject go. She has the inborn abilities to fight the undead and while being resistant to the virus. We hope she can thin out the undead population around the complex." the girl blinked and stopped talking.

"What was that?" Alice asked, noting the switch from first to third person.

"Gwen said it was... Photographic memory?" The girl said.

"Huh." Alice said. "Well... I'll teach you things... If you want?"

"More... Talking?" Six asked.

"Sure, whatever you like." Alice said smiling at the girl. "So did you pick your name?"

"No" She said with a frown "I was always Six to them"

"Do you like it," Alice asked, feeling Suprisingly protective over the small girl, who was in all sense of the word, her child. "You can change it to anything."

The girl thought for a minute before looking at Alice "It's all I know... What would you use?"

Alice wasn't sure what was fueling her need to help the young girl, her anger tha umbrella did this to her, or a slight surge of maternal instincts, maybe it was the fact that she was like her. Not quite human, but not quite inhuman. "I'll think on it. You can help me pick one ok?"

Six looked at her and nodded "I keep watch if you want. "

"Actually me and Claire are on watch tonight. We'll keep you company alright?" Alice asked, knowing she had to tell Claire before the other woman caught on.

Six nodded as Alice got up and went to go hunt down Claire, hoping the other woman didn't freak out.

* * *

><p>She found Claire. Who crossed her arms and looked at her with a seriously concerned and curious look and Alice got the feeling she wasnt the only one who noticed her resemblance to Six.<p>

"Some thing you want to tell me?" Claire asked as Alice stopped I front of her.

"Umm... Six is an umbrella experiment." Alice said, better to start there.

"I thought that might be a possibility when Gwen said she had the same virus." Claire said looking thoughtful "Now explain why the kid is almost a mirror image of you"

Alice was relieved to see only curiosity in Claire's expression. She had expected the redhead to be weirded out or angry with her, but then that would be the reaction in a normal world where an evil corporation wasn't growing children in test tubes that shared her DNA.

"Six is the sixth out of seven experiments. From what I could understand, umbrella is growing children, specifically mine, and trying to use them for something. Six was considered a failure and they pitched her out to fend for herself when they figured out she hadn't learned what they wanted her to or something. She isn't the most literate right now and she's got the body and mind of a teenager but..." Alice paused to observe Claire's expression, now there was anger, but Alice knew it probably wasn't directed at her. "She's only two years old really. She seems capable and intelligent enough, why umbrella threw her out beats me."

Claire looked at her for a minute before seeming to reach some conclusion. "The more of you around the better, she can stay." Claire made her way over to her, ready to take up their shift.

"You're not weirded out?" Alice asked shifting slightly awkwardly.

Claire just grinned and leaned over, planting a brief kiss on Alice's lips. "Probably a lot less than you are. Come on, we have work to do and I have a kid to get introduced with." Claire said, dragging a slightly stunned along with her, headed to the campfire with an air of curiosity surrounding her.

* * *

><p>"So Gwen, how did you meet up with Six?" Kmart asked, watching the newcomer with open curiosity and an excited glint in her eyes.<p>

"Was walking, then just outta nowhere there's this huge horde of zombies around me." A small, but noticeable shudder at the memory wracked Gwen's body. She paused to look around the Hummer's interior and decided she was probably safe in it. "One minute they were there, the next they were just a pile of corpses, that were no longer strolling around. Look around and the only thing is this other kid."

"Whoa. How'd she do it?" Kmart asked, engrossed with Gwen's story.

"Lemme finish would ya? So I go up to her, I knew right off the bat she was different, just this gut instinct that we were alike, but not. So I try to talk to her, and hell if I wasn't frustrated as all else when she only looked at me all confused." Gwen paused to scratch Rex's ears as the large dog rested it's head on her lap. "So I tell her to stay there and I go check out the Undead. Spinal cords severed, from the inside, all at once. Knew it couldn't have been anything other than her. Figured having her around and staying on her good side might be a good idea. So we walk around together for some months and ended up back here."

"Huh. I don't think even Alice is that powerful." Kmart said thoughtfully.

"Nah, Six has technically had the virus longer than anyone. it developed rapidly, just as she did. From what I understand, the longer you have the virus, the stronger you get. Kinda the reverse of what happens to everyone else." Gwen paused and looked thoughtful. "It hurts her. The virus, it grew too powerful too soon. It's just an occasional headache, but when they hit her, they hit her hard."

"How hard?" Kmart said concern evident on her face.

"Hard enough that i have to barricade her inside a small building while getting the hell out of dodge, then coming back later and un burying her from the rubble. She can't control it when it hits her and it's quite explosive. I can handle getting tossed around by her outbursts of energy but a normal human? She'd injure or kill hundreds if they were nearby, she's like a small mental bomb."

"We should tell Alice and Claire" Kmart said knowing this was information they needed.

Gwen seemed wary but nodded "It wouldn't do for her to accidentally hurt someone, She'd never cope with it well. Besides that Alice seems like She'd be able to handle it."

Kmart nodded "Probably, She's pretty strong." Kmart opened the hummer door and hopped out followed by Rex and then Gwen. Then they set out to find the two Alpha's of the convoy. 


End file.
